Product packaging and methods therefor

ABSTRACT

An impression taken of the hand of a celebrity or notable person holding a product wherein the negative of the hand impression is transferred to the consumer packaged good. The negative hand impression permits consumers to place their hand in the impression to fix in the consumer&#39;s mind certain positive aspects of the product.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of US Provisional App. No. 61/753,830 filed Jan. 17, 2013.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not applicable

THE NAMES OF THE PARTIES TO A JOINT RESEARCH AGREEMENT

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INCORPORATION-BY-REFERENCE OF MATERIAL SUBMITTED ON A COMPACT DISC

Not applicable

FIELD

The instant invention relates generally to celebrity endorsed products.

BACKGROUND

Celebrity endorsements of products are old in the art and often involve product packaging with a picture of the celebrity, with or without the celebrities signature. The product is typically advertized as being consumed by the celebrity, which product packaging usually indicates. Because bare packaging and containers generally follow industry norms, e.g., the ubiquitous 16 oz aluminum soft drink can; typically, surface applied indicia and artwork depicting the brand and endorsements, if any, is the only factor that differentiates the container from other like containers. What is needed is a novel and immediately recognizable means for (1) identifying an endorsed product based on a unique shape-quality and (2) inducing a consumer to purchase the product and fix in the mind the relationship between the endorser and the product.

SUMMARY

In an aspect of the instant invention, an impression is taken of a hand of a desirable celebrity or otherwise well recognized person holding the product. The final product, herein depicted as a beverage container, possesses a negative impression of the hand clasping the product, so that a consumer may place his or her hand in the impression while handling the product. The human hand is an absolute unique identifier and the instant invention provides the ability to fix in the consumers mind the connection between a product flavor, for example, and a particular celebrity or notable person. The impression can be simple, having only smooth inner surfaces or may included palm lines and/or finger print ridges.

The instant invention provides a bold statement of the endorsing individual prompting the consumer to partake in the endorsement. It provides a means for companies to exercise their celebrity endorsement contracts by placing a unique and tangible symbol of the endorsement within the consumers hands which strengthens the connection between the celebrity and the endorsed product.

Hand impressions taken from celebrities of large physical stature may be formed into larger containers, such as a two-liter bottle, while other impressions taken from celebrities having uniquely smaller hands can be formed into suitably sized containers.

In the case of a Super Bowl celebrity, the impression may include an impression of fingers wearing a Super Bowl ring.

The instant invention should not be interpreted as being limited to beverage containers. Any packaging which can be formed or adapted to present an impression of a persons hand can be used without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Furthermore, while the instant invention disclosed herein is illustrated with products possessing negative impressions of hands, it should be noted that it is not intended that the instant invention disclaim positive impressions of hands. The impression can be relatively deep or relatively shallow depending one the design constraints inherent to a particular packaging/container type.

Employing accepted manufacturing guidelines, the impression can actually increase structural stability of the product package/container.

In the case of aluminum can production, the indent/imprint would be applied just after a puck draw process, and after a varnish process, where the can would be formed around a positive and negative stamping mold, similar in concept to a Notary's raised seal stamp for paper. One process would need be added to the assembly line. A two-piece, pre-aligned jaw would reach into the can, clench, then release. Then the can would then be rotationally printed.

In the case of plastic containers such as a two liter bottle, the impression is formed in one step as part of the mold in a blow-molded process which is well known by those having skill in the art.

The foregoing and other objects, features, and advantages of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description, which proceeds with reference to the accompanying figures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a can-type beverage container 100 possessing a negative 3D impression of a hand 200;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a bottle-type beverage container 100 possessing a negative 3D impression of a hand 200;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a surround presenting a 3D impression of a hand.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Reference listing:

-   100 container/product packaging -   200 formed impression

Definitions

In the following description, the term “product package” refers to any container or part of a product package that can be adapted or manufactured to possess the impression of a body part, and in particular, an impression of a human hand. The term “celebrity” means any person that is well known and not limited to the fields of sports and entertainment, but any field of endeavor. The term “driving sales” means to promote sales or collection of an item for any reason. The term “product endorsement” means not only public approval or recommendation of a product by a well known person, with or without a contractual underpinning, but more specifically, the physical manifestation and indication of product endorsement in the form of artwork and indicia as part of the product packaging. The term “impression” means generally, a form originally obtained from a human body part, and more specifically with regard to the instant invention, a form taken from a human hand. The term “manufactured” means any means such as injection molding, blow molding, roto-molding, paper forming by pressing or folding, glass blowing/molding, extrusion, or any other known manufacturing means that will be appreciated by those having the skill in the art and benefit of this disclosure as suitable means for reproducing an impression of a human hand in combination with a product package. The word “or” is intended to include “and” unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. Although methods and materials similar or equivalent to those described herein can be used in the practice or testing of this disclosure, suitable methods and materials are described below. The term “comprises” means “includes.” Publications, patent applications, patents, and other references mentioned herein, if any, are incorporated by reference in their entirety for all purposes. In case of conflict, the instant specification, including explanations of terms, will control. In addition, the materials, methods, and examples are illustrative only and not intended to be limiting.

Referring generally to FIGS. 1-2, a can-type package and a bottle-type package are shown having a negative impression of a hand 200 as part of the package. Whether the impression is negative (as shown) or positive (not shown) the respective depth into the surrounding package, or conversely the height above the surrounding package surfaces can vary.

FIG. 3 depicts a clam-shell surround that possesses a negative impression that can be placed on or around a conventionally shaped package, such as an unmodified aluminum can or plastic beverage bottle. The advantage of a employing a surround is that it provides the novel aspects of the invention without having to alter conventional packaging to adapt to the impression of a hand. The surround can be a clam-shell as shown with grooves 110 that can interlock with a paired clam-shell member, or the clam-shell portions can be glued or connected by any suitable means.

The surround can be a clam-shell as shown, or take the form of a one-piece sleeve that is placed over the remainder of the product packaging. The sleeve can be tightly integrated with the balance of the product package, or it can be removed by the consumer.

The surround can be paper, metal, a polymer of any shore value, or any combination of materials suited for at least initially presenting the impression of a human hand.

The following is a non-limiting example of a steps in a process for producing the instant invention: (1) obtaining a product endorsement from a well known person, typically a celebrity, such as a sports celebrity or an entertainer; (2) obtaining an impression of the person's hand grasping a product, typically by taking producing a mold of the person's hand holding a similar sized and shaped package to the package ultimately manufactured as a consumer item; (3) producing the tooling required to produce a package having the impression of the hand; (4) manufacturing the packaging. Regarding step (2), the impression may be obtained by means well known in the art, such as molding, brush on latex, or computerized plotting of the hand coordinates when grasping a product. One means of obtaining an impression is by having the celebrity grasp a soft clay body that is sized and shaped similarly to the final package, such as a clay body cylinder. The impression can then be obtained by known methods once the hand is removed leaving the negative impression in the clay body. Regarding step (3) both traditional and more recent tooling production methods that involve computerized drawing programs, such as SolidWorks® to produce a mold or die are well known in the art and any can be used to practice the instant invention.

In view of the many possible embodiments to which the principles of the disclosed invention may be applied, it should be recognized that the illustrated embodiments are only preferred examples of the invention and should not be taken as limiting the scope of the invention. For example, it is conceivable that impressions of body parts other than the hand of a celebrity may be obtained and used in accordance with the instant invention. Therefore, this disclosure is intended to cover such alternatives, modifications, and equivalents as may be included in the spirit and scope of the description in view of the appended drawings and claims. 

I claim:
 1. A specially shaped package to promote sales of a packaged product comprising: (1) a product endorsement, (2) a part of the package having the form of a human hand obtained from an impression of a person's hand.
 2. The package according to claim 1, wherein the impression is negative or positive.
 3. The package according to claim 1, wherein the person is well known.
 3. The package according to claim 1, wherein the impression is obtained by producing a an image of the hand mold, or by computerized plotting means.
 4. A process for producing a specially shaped product package to drive consumer sales comprising the steps of: (1) obtaining a product endorsement from a well known person, such as a sports celebrity or an entertainer, (2) obtaining an impression of the person's hand when grasping a product, (3) producing the tooling required to produce a package having the impression of the hand, and, (4) manufacturing the packaging, and presenting it to the consumer. 